Happy Birthday, Baby
by Faulty Cameras
Summary: The ways different characters spend birthdays that are significant to them and their lives. Chapter 4: Ryan
1. Summer

Disclaimer: I don't own The OC.

A/N-As I am experiencing a slight writer's block on oh, pretty much all of my stories, I decided to write this. I originally was going to write this and post it next week Wednesday, as it is my birthday. Then today, as I was watching several episodes of The OC, I decided I was going to post a birthday fic for each of the characters, the last one being posted on my birthday. Each story will show significant birthdays for each of the characters and what happened to them on that day. Also, the title really will applies mostly to this fic, so if it doesn't make complete sense for everyone, it was just the best I could come up with. Tomorrow, I will be posting the fic for Seth. Also this is self-edited once again, meaning there are most likely mistakes because my patience only gets me to read half of this before deciding it's good enough, so my apologies for any mistakes. Please read, it would be an awesome early birthday present to me. :D

* * *

Summer was practically bursting with excitement. She couldn't contain it anymore.

She ran out of her room to her parents bedroom. She launched herself onto their bed, jumping excitedly to wake them up.

"Mommy! Daddy! Wake up! I'm five now!" she exclaimed, never stopping the jumping.

Her mother opened her eyes, smiling at her. "No, I don't believe that it's your birthday."

Summer opened her eyes wide. "It is so my birthday!"

"Your mom's just teasing you Summer. Happy birthday, baby," Neil pulled his daughter into his arms. He turned to look at her mom. "What do you say Liz? Do you think the birthday girl deserves to be tickled by the tickle monsters?"

"No!!" Summer squealed as both her parents started tickling her, her squeals turning into laughter.

She wriggled away from them, darting off their bed. "I have to get in my party dress!"

"Summer, it's seven in the morning. Your party doesn't even start until two this afternoon," Liz commented.

"I wanna get in my dress."

"Fine, fine, go ahead."

Summer flashed her mother a smile, then ran from the room. She put her brand new pink checkered summer dress on, slipping on the matching pink jelly sandals. Liz came in the room several minutes later.

"Do you want me to braid your hair Summer?" she questioned.

"Yes, please." Summer handed her mother her hairbrush and hair clips and sat down on her bed.

"Are you excited for your party today?" Liz asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Yes! I can't wait to open all my presents 'n have everyone come to see me and my prettyful dress."

Liz laughed at her daughter. "I'm glad. You just have to wait until two."

Summer groaned. "Mommy, that's soooo long. It's like a bijillion years!"

"You'll be fine."

"I'ma gonna go wait for everyone!"

Summer darted out of the room as soon as the hairclip was placed in her hair. She ran down the stairs, taking her place at the front window. She was going to sit there, until someone came for her party.

* * *

Finally, at exactly two o'clock, people started showing up. The first family to arrive was the Cooper family, causing Summer to get even more excited that her best friend was there first.

"Marissa!" Summer ran to greet her friend, giving her a hug.

"Happy birthday Summer," Julie said to the little girl.

"Summer, what do you say?" Liz said before her daughter had a chance to run away to their backyard to play.

"Thank you Mrs. Cooper," she replied politely, then looked at her mother. "Can we go play now?"

"Go ahead."

Soon enough, the party was in full swing, Summer ecstatic at the amount of people who were going to celebrate her birthday. All of her friends were there--plus some people who weren't her friends, but her parents friends, but it didn't matter to her. She was just enjoying being the center of attention for the whole day.

"Summer?" a quiet voice came from behind her in the middle of her game on Simon Says with all her friends.

She turned around, wrinkling her nose when she say who it was. "What do you want Smelly Cohen?"

Seth looked down at the ground, shuffling his feet. "Can I play with you guys?"

Summer sighed. "If you have to, Smelly."

"Hey, Summer, be nice to Seth," Liz came up behind her daughter. "Or you won't get any cake."

"Fine, Sm-Seth. You can play with us."

The game continued on until it was time for Summer to open her presents. She darted over to the table, tearing the paper off each present, barely leaving time to say thank you before she opened the next.

Finally, she got the present from her parents. It was a small box, wrapped in pink paper, her favorite color.

She tore off the paper, squealing in delight when she saw what it was. "You got me Princess Sparkle!"

Summer had seen the small toy horse in the store a month ago, right away dubbing it Princess Sparkle. She had almost got it that day, until she got in trouble for throwing a tantrum about not getting the dress she had wanted.

"That's not all." Liz smiled at her daughter as Neil lifted up a larger wrapped gift for their daughter to open.

She tore the paper off as fast as she could to reveal a large doll house, complete with a horse stable for Princess Sparkle. She once again squealed, then threw herself at her parents, giving them a hug.

She had already decided that it was the best birthday ever.

X.X.X.X

Summer sighed, resting her head back on the pillow. This day was not turning out to be how she wanted it at all.

She was in her bed, as she had been since she woke up early that morning. She hadn't gotten out, except for her frequent trips to the bathroom. She had a fever and she couldn't move without feeling achy, not to mention the amount of times she had thrown up.

This was not the way her tenth birthday was supposed to go.

She and her mother had planned her party for weeks. She and a group of her friends were going to the mall to shop, then to see a movie, and then out to dinner. It was all perfectly planned and Summer had been so excited for the day to finally come.

Of course, when she woke up sick to her stomach, the whole party had been cancelled. She had tried to pretend that she wasn't sick, but it was impossible to prove.

She curled under the covers, trying to make the pounding in her head go away. It didn't help when there was a loud knock on the door that just added.

"Summer?" Liz stepped into the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Not good," Summer replied. She felt the tears spill out of her eyes at the sight of her mother. "Mom, it's not fair!"

"I know it isn't."

"It's my tenth birthday and I can't even celebrate it," she sobbed.

Liz came over and hugged her daughter tightly. "I know this really stinks Summer--"

"No, Mom, it sucks!"

"Yes, it does. But we can fix this. Actually we already have," Liz smiled at her daughter, then walked to open the door.

Marissa walked in the room, followed by four of their friends, Holly, Leslie, Amy, and Maureen. They were all holding wrapped presents, plus Marissa had a stack of DVDs.

"Wha-what are you guys doing here?" Summer asked. "I could get you all sick!"

Marissa shrugged. "Oh well. When your mom called to tell us you were sick, we couldn't just not do something for your birthday. So the four of us were willing to come over here to celebrate with you by watching movies. The rest were too chicken."

"Hey, it was all their ideas," Liz said. "You've got some good friends Summer."

They all smiled at her. Summer returned the smile happily.

"Thanks guys." She looked at her mom. "You too Mom, for letting them come."

"Happy birthday, baby," Liz replied. "I'm going to go downstairs with your dad now. Come get me if you need anything."

The girls all piled on Summer's bed, throwing the DVDs and presents at her, chatting away. Summer's grin grew larger with each moment she got to spend with her friends. Even though she was sick, it was turning out to be a great day. It most definitely no longer sucked.

X.X.X.X

Summer slammed her bedroom door shut, shaking the shelf on the wall. She couldn't believe that they would do this to her. It was her thirteenth birthday and they were arguing.

They were always arguing. It had been going on for the past year and a half.

She had stupidly thought that maybe, just maybe, for one day the arguing would stop. For her thirteenth birthday, she wanted it to be perfect.

It had started out all right. It had been the day she had wanted. Her parents took her and Marissa out for the day, since Summer didn't really feel like having a huge party with all her friends. They went to the movies and then out to dinner. It had been fine until they got to the restaurant. That's when the arguing had started.

It had started out small, something about ordering food. It had escalated from there, about the check and then their personal problems had been brought up for the whole restaurant to hear. Summer had never been so embarrassed in her life. She had stood up and ran out of there, never wanting to look back.

When they had given her the cake at the restaurant and she had blown out the candle, all she had wished for was her family to go back to normal.

She closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry. She didn't want to cry anymore. She had listened to her parents fight so much, she hated when they did.

She just wished her wish would come true. She knew it wasn't going to though. She knew that her family was broken and there was no fixing it. She knew it.

The next morning, she woke up and her mother was gone, a short note written to her.

_Summer,  
I love you. Please don't think this is because of you. We've been having problems for a while. There's no fixing this. Happy birthday, baby. I'm sorry it wasn't everything you wanted.  
Mom_

Summer crumpled the note in her hand, not stopping the tears from coming out of her eyes.

Her family was officially broken.

X.X.X.X

Seth Cohen. She hated hearing that name, she hated seeing it, she hated every last thing about it.

Because of Seth Cohen her birthday was not even close to what it should have been.

It was the exact opposite. It was everything she had never wanted it to be.

She had thought this year her birthday was going to be different. Every year since her mom had left her, her birthday had been avoided. Her dad would wish her a quick happy birthday, a few presents, a quick dinner, and that was it. It was no longer special.

Last year there had been a party, but half of the people there didn't even know it was her birthday. It was another excuse for kids to find an easy way to get drunk.

She had thought this year was going to be different. She had Seth, her Cohen. She had been foolish enough to think that he was going to be there for her birthday.

She had thought she was going to have someone to say "Happy birthday, baby" to her once again.

She had been so wrong. So completely wrong.

She should have known better. She should have known that it wasn't going to last, that he was going to break her heart.

She wished she had known what he was going to do. Then she would have never given him her heart to break.

She sighed, sitting down at the kitchen table. There was a small cake sitting a top it, a note written from her dad about an emergency surgery, telling her to call Marissa over to order a pizza and eat the cake.

She was completely alone on her birthday.

Her dad was at his surgery and the step-monster was passed out somewhere in the house. Marissa wasn't going to come over, mostly due to the fact that she was wallowing over Ryan leaving her with a bottle of alcohol.

Seth should have been there. She wondered if he even remembered it was her birthday. She wanted him to call her, to talk to her. She wanted to scream at him for what he did.

Most of all, she wanted to tell him to come home.

She didn't go to the phone to call him though. She grabbed a lone candle, sticking it in the cake. She hummed happy birthday to herself, then leaned towards the candle to make her wish.

"Happy birthday, baby."

X.X.X.X

Summer put the final touches on her makeup, then straightened her dress. She practically bounced out of the room, something her roommate took notice to.

"Excited Summer?" Taylor asked with a smirk on her face.

"Excited doesn't even begin to cover it Taylor," Summer replied.

She was turning 21 and had never been happier. She was going to see Seth for the first time in nearly six months.

She had continued with GEORGE after her one year, enjoying it so much that she wanted to continue. She had finished with it about two months before, arriving back in California.

That was how she ended up living with Taylor Townsend, a person way back when she was 17 she never thought she would be rooming with. But now, Taylor was her best friend and the one person she would want to room with in Berkeley.

Taylor had come back from France around the same time as her, to be close with Ryan, therefore solving both of their problems of rooming.

Of course, Summer had a problem of different sorts, one that Taylor couldn't solve for her. She hadn't seen Seth and had thought he was coming to Berkeley. That was until she had found out he had gotten a summer internship in Providence and was staying there for the whole summer.

Immediately, she had wanted to fly and live with him in Providence. When he told her that he was living with four other guys in one apartment, that had lessened the appeal. Sure, she was proud of him for conserving and all, but it still didn't make her want to go and stay with him. Though she was a different Summer than her high-school Summer, part of her was still there and that part came out when invited to live with five guys, most of them probably like Seth, but not as cute.

Plus, she had found a job that she kind of enjoyed and didn't feel like leaving. And as much as she had loved her short lived time on the East Coast, California was her home and it was where she needed to be.

So she had waited the extra two months to see the man she was in love with. It had been hard at times, but she was able to do it. And now, he was home for her birthday. She couldn't wait for him to pick her up, to kiss him.

Summer looked at Taylor, who was dressed up quite nice, which surprised Summer. She hadn't known she had plans to go out.

"Your going out tonight?"

"Yea, you know, Ryan just called and asked me to go out to dinner. We haven't done anything like that in a while, mostly hanging out at home, so I thought it would be a good idea."

"That sounds nice."

Summer held her cell phone in her hand, anxiously waiting for the call from Seth, telling her he was coming up to the apartment to get her. She was almost pacing, she just couldn't wait.

"Sum, calm down. He'll be here soon."

"I can't calm down. I really want to see him."

"I know. He'll get here eventually."

"I'm going to go to the bathroom," Summer said, getting off the couch. "If he comes while I'm in there, yell to me."

"And you're just going to come mid-pee?"

Summer just glared at her best friend before going into the bathroom. The minute she came out, she heard a very familiar voice, talking in a low whisper.

"Cohen!"

As soon as she saw looked at him, she knew she was going to be unable to wipe the smile off of her face. She ran up to him, wrapping her arms around him and never intending to let go.

He kissed her and she realized how much she had missed having his lips touch hers. Six months without kissing him had been too long. She never wanted to go that long without him ever again.

"Summer's bedroom is right there. Please, use it."

"Can't. We have dinner reservations. But later…well, yes. We will be using it."

"Should I take that as a subtle note for me to not come home tonight?" Taylor questioned, an amused smirk on her face.

"Yes. Hey, at least I was subtle. I could have said "Summer and I are coming back here tonight to have lots of hot, wild sex. You shouldn't stay here tonight unless you want to hear us having said hot, wild sex". You're glad I didn't say that, aren't you?"

"Very."

Summer was so glad to see Seth that she didn't even scold him for saying what he just said. In normal circumstances, she would have, but today was special. She didn't want to yell at him at all.

"Are you ready to go?" he questioned.

"Of course."

They walked out of her apartment to his car. As soon as they got in the car, she kissed him again.

He smiled at her. "I forgot to say happy birthday. And I didn't forget about your present either. You'll get that at dinner."

"You coming to see me was present enough."

"Well, I really think that you're going to like this present. So, you're going to want it."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you that, it would ruin the surprise."

"Please?"

"No."

Summer looked at him curiously, but decided to drop it. She didn't want to ruin this moment.

"Hey Cohen?" she asked after they had been driving for a few minutes.

"Yea?"

"Can you promise me something?"

"Of course," he said, grabbing a hold of her hand and not letting go.

"Can we not be away from each other that long again?"

"Definitely."

They drove for a while in silence, but a comfortable one, until they got to the restaurant. Summer reached to get out of the car when Seth grabbed her hand. He pulled her as close as he possibly could, then started to kiss her, moving what they had started earlier farther along.

"Cohen, we have dinner reservations," she reminded him, though she found herself caring less and less each second she was kissing him.

"I know, I know. And we really should get inside."

"We should."

"I don't want to."

"But we should."

Seth pulled away from her, frustrated. "Okay. Right. We really do need to get inside. After all, I have to give you, your birthday present."

Summer leaned in to kiss him one more time, this time pulling away before things got so heated that this time they didn't stop.

They got out of the car and walked hand in hand to the restaurant, both smiling the whole time. They were together and that was all they needed to be happy.

* * *

The meal went faster than Summer had thought it would go. She had wanted it to go slowly, she had so much to tell Seth and he had so much to tell her. Despite the fact that they talked every night to one another on the phone, it didn't make up for the fact that there was still a lot that they needed to tell one another.

"Do I get my present yet?" Summer questioned after they had ordered their dessert.

Seth looked at his watch and then at the door. "Not yet. Soon. I promise."

Summer wanted to question him, but didn't say a word. She also was starting to wonder why all of the sudden he was nervous and jumpy but decided it was best left alone.

After being embarrassed completely by having the whole waiting staff sing to her, she dug into her dessert. She looked at Seth, who was still watching the door and not eating his dessert.

"Seth? What's up? You're not eating your dessert at all."

"Ah, sorry. I got distracted." He picked up his spoon and started eating, though Summer could tell he was still distracted.

The next time she looked up at him, she saw him look even more nervous than he had a few minutes before. She was about to force him to tell her what the problem was when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and was shocked to see Sandy and Kirsten standing there, Sophie in Kirsten's arms. After looking closer, she saw Ryan and Taylor coming through the door.

"What are you guys doing here?" she questioned, getting up to hug them all.

"Um, Summer, could you sit back down?" Seth asked, after she had given the required hugs and received the happy birthdays.

She did so and watched as his family moved away slightly, still in view of the table. The whole restaurant seemed to take sudden interest in this as well, as they turned to stare at them.

Summer looked at Seth, yet to have caught on to what was going on. She smiled at Seth, who was practically shaking, fumbling for something in his pocket.

"So they're all here because I asked them to, because well…" he got down on one knee, causing Summer to gasp and her hand to fly over her mouth. "I love you so much Summer, more than anything in this entire world. We've had our ups and downs but we've always worked through it together. Will you marry me?"

Summer was shocked that this was happening to her but somehow, through this shock and the tears flowing from her eyes, she managed to choke out an answer.

"Yes, Cohen, I will marry you." She threw herself into his arms, everyone in the restaurant clapping for them.

"So was this a good birthday present then?" he whispered.

"The best."

"Happy birthday, baby," he said, kissing her once again.

She nearly started to cry when she heard him say the phrase her parents would always say to her on her birthday. She hadn't heard that since she was 13 years old--but it was right that Seth said it to her. It fit in perfectly with what had become her perfect birthday.

X.X.X.X

"So, does this birthday win?" Seth questioned, smiling at his wife.

"Hm, let me think about that for a minute. I spent the majority of it in labor. Does that seem like a good birthday to you?"

Seth's face fell. "But you got this beautiful little girl out of it."

Summer looked at her daughter, who Seth was currently holding. She smiled at the sight of her. "I know. It was worth the pain."

"Good."

"But she's our last. Seriously, Seth, three kids with your genes is enough."

He shrugged. "I can't help that the Cohens are a fertile bunch."

"Ugh, that is not what I needed to hear when I enter a room."

Seth and Summer looked to see Sophie coming into the room, followed by Sandy, Kirsten, and Seth and Summer's other two children come into the room.

"Hey, Soph, you have to deal with it. You're a Cohen too," Seth said.

"Unfortunately," she groaned.

Seth smiled at his fourteen year old sister. She was growing up to be the exact opposite of him, something Seth was certain his parents were rather thankful for. He had to agree--he liked being one of a kind.

Kirsten immediately darted over to Seth to see her new granddaughter. "Oh, she's so beautiful."

"I wanna see!" their six year old son, Jacob, tugged on his grandmother's shirt, wanting desperately to see his new baby sister.

"Me too!" their three year old, Alyssa, followed her brothers actions.

"Calm down guys," Seth said. "You'll get to see her."

"Are Ryan and Taylor coming?" Summer questioned Kirsten.

"Of course. They're parking our car for us. We were in the parking lot at the same time and these two were just too anxious to see you guys and the baby," Kirsten replied.

"A lot of babies seemed to be born today, we walked past the nursery," Sandy added.

"Well, I have to say, it's a pretty good day to be born on. Don't you agree Summer?"

"Of course I agree. Best day of the whole year."

"That's right. Happy birthday Summer."

"Thanks."

"Summer now has to share her birthday with Brooke," Seth commented, handing the baby to Summer. "Are you all right with that Summer?"

"Yes, of course. This is the best birthday present I could have gotten."

Jacob looked at his mother, his face no longer bright and smiling. "Was it even better than the handprints me 'n Alyssa made for you?"

"Of course not," Summer said, smiling at her son. She normally hated lying to him, but felt this was necessary. He would never know the difference anyway.

"We're going to leave for a few minutes, go find Ryan and Taylor. They probably got lost or something," Sandy commented.

"Can we stay Mom?" Jacob asked.

"Of course you guys can stay," Summer replied.

"Are you sure Summer?" Kirsten commented. "We don't mind taking them on a walk around."

Summer shook her head. "I missed my babies."

"All right. We'll be back in a few minutes, Ryan and Taylor in tow."

They walked out of the room, leaving the family alone.

"Can we get on the bed with Mom?" Jacob questioned.

"Yes, just be careful," Seth warned.

The two climbed onto their mother's bed, cautious around their baby sister. They looked like they already liked her, which Seth and Summer were glad to see, considering the nerves they had about the two reacting to a new baby.

Seth took a seat on the edge of the bed, smiling at his family. He looked at Summer, who had the same look in her eyes that he was certain he had.

"Happy birthday, baby," he said. "To both of you."

Summer looked at him, then at her children. She was now 32, with an amazing husband, two young children, and now a new baby. If she had thought back to her birthdays from long ago, she would have never thought this was where she would be on her birthday,

But now that she was there, on her 32nd birthday, she was happier than she ever was before. And that was just how she wanted it to always be.


	2. Seth

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.

A/N-This chapter doesn't focus as much on the younger years as it did for Summer, just because I think I had more to work with for Summer. One of his birthday ones is really random and weird, though I find it rather funny. But still, I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter. Also, I changed the name of Seth and Summer's son, it is now Jacob. The next chapter up will be Taylor. Thanks for the reviews and this is once again self-edited, so apologies for mistakes.

* * *

"Do I have to go Mom?" Seth whined.

"Yes, Seth. It's just a day of school. And I made cupcakes for your class," Kirsten remarked.

"Bought," Seth supplied.

Kirsten rolled her eyes. "Fine, bought. But, still, your whole class gets cupcakes. Isn't that exciting? C'mon, they're your favorite.

"Not really," Seth replied. "Can I just not go?"

It was his tenth birthday and the last thing he wanted to do. It wasn't fair that he had to go into school. His parents didn't seem to understand that school was not a fun place for him to go. None of the kids really liked him.

"You can't miss school Seth," Sandy commented. "It'll be fine."

"Oh sure. It'll be fine," Seth rolled his eyes.

"It will be. They'll all wish you a happy birthday and then you can hand out the invitations to your birthday party."

"No one is going to come."

"They will Seth."

"No one wants to go to Smelly Cohen or Death Breath Seth's birthday party."

Sandy bent down so that he was level with his son. "Don't listen to a word they say. Be the better person and ignore what they say."

Seth sighed, realizing that he was going to lose this battle with his parents. He picked his backpack up off the ground, walking to the car. He just wanted this day to be over.

* * *

Seth sat on the bench outside of the school, waiting for his dad to come pick him up. He was the only one sitting alone. Everyone else was waiting with their friends, talking and laughing with one another.

He really wanted that, but he wasn't going to have it.

He couldn't figure out why they didn't like him. It had been that way since he was five years old. He just didn't seem to fit in with them. He had originally tried to get them to be friends with him, but nothing seemed to work. He had just given up.

His parents didn't seem to agree with his giving up at all. They pushed him to try and make friends and made many attempts. The cupcakes and birthday invitations were another chance.

He wasn't going to tell them that everyone ate the cupcakes without saying 'Happy Birthday' or that half of them threw his invitations out.

* * *

The following weekend, it was time for Seth's party. He was hanging out in his room, despite the fact that his parents were trying to tell him that people were going to show up for his party. He didn't believe them at all.

Sandy and Kirsten needed to have some sort of faith though. They didn't want to believe that fifth graders could be that mean. As the minutes ticked by and family was the only one at the party, they were starting to lose their faith.

Seth decided to finally come out of his room, even though his grandpa was there and he would probably be asked why he had no friends. This was going to be a rather pleasant birthday party.

He walked down the stairs and was shocked beyond belief to see that people were there. Actual people who were not his family or his parents' friends.

It was Summer Roberts, Marissa Cooper, and Luke Ward. Of all people to show up at his house, he couldn't believe it was those three.

"Seth, look your friends are here," Kirsten said, letting out a huge sigh of relief that someone had shown up.

Seth was still more than a little shocked that they had even shown up. He had sworn he saw Luke throw out his invitation last week.

"Happy birthday De-Seth," Luke mumbled, handing him a wrapped present.

Summer and Marissa did the same. He couldn't get over his shock.

"Seth, what do you say?"

"Th-thank you," Seth said. Even at ten, Seth knew when there was an awkward silence and he needed to fill this one. "Do you guys want to come play my PlayStation? I have some really fun games and we can take turns. That would be all right, right Mom?"

"Of course."

"What kind of games do you have?" Luke questioned, suddenly curious. "Any football ones?"

Seth blinked a few times, not too sure how to respond. "Uh, no. I do have one with ninjas though."

"Cool."

Summer and Marissa rolled their eyes but followed the boys to play. For the next two hours, they sat and played various games, all taking turns.

Even though, the three left after two hours, Seth didn't care. And even though, when he did open their presents, they were all empty boxes, he didn't care. And he knew that come Monday, no one was going to talk to him, he didn't care.

For two hours, he had friends. It was the best birthday present he could have had.

X.X.X.X.

Seth woke up, wondering why there were people all in his room. Well, four people to be exact.

"Happy 18th birthday!"

Ah. So that was why.

His parents were the first to hug him, followed by Summer coming over to him and kissing him.

"We brought you your breakfast in bed," Kirsten said.

So far, he had been celebrating his birthday for four minutes and it was already winning epically.

"Can I turn 18 every year?" Seth questioned.

"Sorry, this is a one time deal. And this was Summer's doing," Sandy said.

"Yea, if it was up to us, we would have just thrown you a present," Ryan added.

"Your attempts at humor still fail."

Ryan shrugged. "I'll leave it up to you."

"We're going to go downstairs now," Kirsten said. "Happy birthday Seth."

Sandy and Kirsten left the room, leaving the three alone for a few minutes. Seth smiled at his girlfriend.

"So you really set this whole thing up?" Seth questioned.

"Yes. Don't let it get to your head or anything. But, please, do keep in mind that I expect something equally nice done for my birthday."

"Mhmm, don't worry it will be done," Seth said, not paying attention to what she was saying. He started to eat his breakfast instead.

"What's the first thing that you are going to do now that you're 18?" Ryan asked.

Seth chewed on his breakfast, contemplating this for a minute. "I'm thinking I'm going to go buy porn."

Summer whacked him on the arm for that comment. Ryan just smirked, watching the whole scene unfold in front of him.

"Ow, woman! What was that for?"

"You just said you were going to buy porn."

Seth shrugged. "I don't see what's wrong with that. I feel like it's wrong that you hit me on my birthday!"

"Cohen, you just told me, your girlfriend, the one who you're having sex with--"

"And on that note, I'm going to go," Ryan said, getting up and leaving the room.

"--that you are going to buy porn."

"I was just kidding. I was making a joke because I can legally buy it now."

Summer crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. "Have you been illegally buying it or something?"

"No! I don't need to watch porn. I was just making a joke."

"A not very funny one. Atwood was funnier than you were today."

"Please, don't say that again, as it's so not true," Seth said, moving the tray that held his breakfast off to the side, then pulling Summer close to him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by that remark."

"It wasn't funny."

"I know. Obviously, I failed at being funny."

"Just a little."

"I'm sorry…so what else do you have planned for my birthday?"

Summer shrugged. "Nothing."

"That's a bit of a letdown."

"I told your parents that we would hang out around here for the day and then all go out to dinner. Marissa's coming to, I think," Summer replied.

"Well, then this is a going to be a delightful day."

Summer kissed him. "Everything is going to be great. I promise." She glared at him once again. "But there will be no porn involved."

"Aye, aye."

She rolled her eyes again at him, but leaned into kiss him again. "Happy birthday, Cohen."

X.X.X.X.

His 21st birthday was supposed to be awesome and fun. He was supposed to go out and get drunk for the first time (well, first time legally) and then go back to his apartment with Summer.

It was not supposed to be spent in a bar, by himself.

Well, not completely by himself. His friend, Jared, was somewhere in the bar. Seth wasn't quite sure, considering he had gone off somewhere as soon as they had entered, looking for a girl for the night.

Seth sighed, getting off the bar stool. He was pretty sure he was just going to head back to his apartment and fall asleep while watching a movie.

He looked around the bar for Jared, but when he saw him making out in a booth with some random girl, he decided to just leave.

He started the walk back to his apartment, which wasn't far from the bar. He pulled his coat around him tightly, as he had yet to adapt to the cold Providence weather. He was pretty sure he was never going to adapt to it.

He wished that his birthday had gone differently. He had received all the calls from his family, wishing him a happy birthday and of course all of his friends. The one person he hadn't received a phone call from was the person who mattered the most to him.

Summer had told him a few weeks before that there was no way that she could get to be there for him on his birthday. He had shrugged it off, pretending to be fine with it. It was just his birthday, so it wasn't really that big of a deal.

He was still surprised he hadn't received a call from her. It was starting to make him angry, because really, he thought that she could have afforded a phone call, at least.

He finally got to his apartment, letting himself inside. He was looking through the mail, there was absolutely nothing of interest. He thought about watching a movie, but then decided he just wanted to go to bed.

He walked into his bedroom, starting to get ready to go to sleep. He decided that was the best option.

"Cohen."

He jumped a foot when he heard a voice. After getting over his shock, he turned to look at Summer, sitting on his bed.

"Wha-what are you doing here?"

She smiled widely. "I managed to come. I'm here for the next week."

"You're not really here are you? Maybe I did have more alcohol than I realized…"

"Shut up, Cohen, it's really me."

"I don't believe you. Because you told me that you weren't coming, so therefore you aren't here."

She sighed, getting off of his bed, and walked over to him, kissing him.

"Do you believe me now?"

"I think I will if you kiss me again."

She did so, then pulled away smiling at him. "See, I found a way to come for your birthday. I would suggest drinking, since you now legally can, but it seems you already took care of that."

"I was lonely. Well, I brought Jared with me, but you know he was just using it as an excuse to pick up more girls," Seth said.

"Of course. What else would we expect out of Jared?"

"One day, he is actually going to find a girl and he's going to settle down with her."

"What, when he's 50? He enjoys screwing a different girl every night too much."

"That is true." Seth smiled at Summer, hugging her. "I'm so glad that you're here."

"Me too. And I'm here for the next week. I'm sorry it's so late on your birthday though. We can do whatever you want though, if you want to go back out or something."

"Honestly? I just want to sleep, with you next to me."

"That sounds like a really good plan," Summer agreed, climbing into his bed.

He climbed in after her, wrapping her up in his arms. They laid there like that, waiting for sleep to take over.

"Cohen?"

"Mhmm?" Seth was almost asleep, barely registering that she was talking to him.

"Happy birthday. I love you."

X.X.X.X.

Seth opened his gift from his son, who was currently smiling widely at him. Seth looked at what he had just opened, a framed picture drawn--well, more like scribbled--by Jacob.

"He was trying to draw just like his daddy," Summer commented, kissing the top of the two year old's head.

"I think he did a pretty good job. One day, he's going to be better at drawing then me. I'm almost positive."

He looked at his curly headed son, his heart practically bursting with pride just looking at him. Though he was almost three years old, Seth still couldn't get over the fact that he and Summer had a kid.

Sometimes, he even had to remind himself that he was married to Summer. He would think back to how he once thought when he was sixteen years old, that he would forever be loving her from afar. He still couldn't believe sometimes that his dreams had actually come true.

"Let's have cake now," Summer said, going into the kitchen.

"Cake!" Jacob exclaimed excitedly.

Seth pulled Jacob onto his lap as Summer came back into the room, the candles already lit. "Do you want to help blow out my candles?"

Jacob nodded his head excitedly, transfixed by the flames.

"Just be sure you don't spit on the cake."

Summer rolled her eyes as she placed the cake down on the table in front of Seth and Jacob.

"You don't need to sing me happy birthday Sum," Seth said.

"Well, good, considering Jake's already starting to blow the candles out."

Seth looked at his son, who had blown out half of the candles on the cake already. "Hey, you're supposed to wait for me too."

Jacob looked at his dad, a wide grin on his face. "Sorry."

"That's all right. You might as well finish them."

Jacob did just that, not wiping the smile off of his face. He turned to look back at his dad. "All done."

"Good. I'm going to blow all your candles out on your birthday now."

His face fell and he almost looked like he was going to cry. He could practically fell Summer's glare on him.

"Cohen."

"Right, right, I'm sorry, buddy, I was just kidding. I won't touch your candles."

Summer rolled her eyes. "He's two Seth. I highly doubts he understood that you were joking."

"Perhaps he's an incredibly intelligent two year old. Plus, he's almost three. So…yea."

"Just cut the cake," Summer said, lifting Jacob out of his lap.

"Getting right on that." Seth got up to go get the knife and plates from the kitchen.

"This cake looks so delicious, Sum. I think you're really getting the hang of baking and causing the cake to not explode."

"That was one time. And that was one of the first times I baked something. I don't know why you still feel the need to bring it up."

"Because it was funny. You made a cake explode."

"I'd like to see you make one, then, Cohen."

"Oh no. I am the grill master. I leave the rest up to you."

"You just know that you wouldn't be able to make a cake as great as mine."

"I wouldn't be able to make a cake that would explode as well as yours."

"Oh shut up Cohen," Summer said, though she had a small smile on her face.

"Will you teach me how to make a cake explode?"

She rolled her eyes, taking a piece of cake and sitting down, now ignoring Seth.

"Uh, Jacob, do you think I made Mommy mad?" Seth questioned his son.

Jacob nodded his head before taking more interest in his cake. Seth sighed.

"I was just joking. I didn't mean anything by it. I don't want you to be mad at me; after all, it is my birthday."

"Fine. I won't be mad at you today, but I'm not making any promises for tomorrow. I might end up being mad at you then, so don't be shocked if it happens."

"All right, sounds good enough to me."

The three ate the cake, all talk of exploding cake behind them. Soon after, it was time for Jacob to go to bed, much to the toddler's protesting.

"No, no, no."

"Yes, yes, yes," Seth said, putting Jacob's pajamas on.

"No."

"Yes."

Seth sighed. "I am starting to find it impossible to argue with you."

Summer laughed from where she was watching at the doorstep. "He does put up quite the good argument, but it is time for bed."

"No, Mama," Jacob protested, though he started to yawn half way through his sentence.

"I think someone's tried."

"No."

Seth kissed his son's forehead. "Goodnight Jake."

Jacob had already almost nodded off completely, not responding to what Seth had said. He left the room, closing the door slightly behind him after making sure the nightlight was on.

"So how was your birthday?" Summer questioned as they headed downstairs to the living room.

"I think it was fantastic. And that cake was excellent, even better because it didn't explode."

"Can we not talk about my abilities to explode a cake?"

"Of course." They sat down on their couch, Seth turning on the television to find something to watch.

Seth turned to look at Summer, who was chewing her bottom lip, and was obviously thinking about something, he could just tell something was on her mind.

"What's up, Summer?"

"Huh?" she looked at him, obviously not paying attention to what was going on around her.

"I can tell by the look on your face, something's up."

"Yeah…um, I'm going to go get your present."

"You didn't have to get me anything. The non-exploding cake was enough."

She glared at him as she got off the couch. "That was not funny."

"I was kidding."

She didn't respond, leaving the room to get his gift. Seth turned his attention to the television, watching some sort of show on the Discovery Health Channel, something about having three sets of twins. He shuddered at the thought of that.

Summer came back into the room, clutching a wrapped box in her hands. She hesitated before handing it to Seth.

He opened it up, expecting there to be a shirt or something inside, as Summer was always making some sort of attempt to have an influence over his wardrobe. He was surprised when he pushed aside the tissue paper to see a baby outfit, one that he recognized as an old on of Jacob's, sitting in the box.

"Why are you giving me one of Jacob's old outfits?" Seth questioned.

Summer didn't reply. She just kind of stared at her hands, obviously wanting Seth to figure out why she was giving him this gift.

He looked at it for a second or two more before something finally clicked in his mind. He looked up at Summer.

"Are you…are you pregnant?"

"Um…yes."

Seth's face broke out into a smile. "Are you really?"

"Yes, I really am."

"This is great," he paused. "Wait…this _is_ great right?"

"I thought so. I wasn't sure you would react, which is why I waited until tonight to tell you."

"How come you didn't think I would think this is great news?" Seth questioned, perplexed at this comment.

"Well, you're about to switch careers and we aren't going to be making as much money as we were before. I was just worried that you were going to think this was horrible timing. And plus, I know that you've said you loved just having Jacob and I was worried that you were going to think this was horrible and you weren't going to be happy and--"

Seth placed his hand over her mouth. "You need to stop being around me, because you are starting to go on like me." He removed his hand. "And it doesn't matter about timing. I think it's great that we're going to have another baby. Timing doesn't mean anything to me. Sure, I'm switching careers and all, but it'll all work out. Unless…I can continue with what I'm doing now, Sum. I don't need to switch now. I can wait until the baby is born."

"No, Cohen, this is what you want to do. We'll make everything work."

"Good. That's what I wanted you to say." He smiled at her. "We're going to have another baby."

She returned the smile. "Yea. We are…happy birthday."

He kissed her. "This is the best birthday present you could have ever given me."

"I'm so glad that you're happy about this," she said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I was so worried."

"I'm beyond happy. I'm ecstatic. This is great."

Summer yawned leaning into him. "I wish I would have known that before; I spent the whole day worrying that you weren't going to like this news."

"You shouldn't have worried. You should have known better."

"I know."

She closed her eyes, using Seth's shoulder as her pillow. Seth let her fall asleep there, continuing to watch whatever was on TV. His mind wasn't really all there, considering he was thinking about the fact that he was going to get to have another baby with Summer. He really didn't think that his birthday could have gone any better.


	3. Taylor

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.

A/N-I'm really sorry that this wasn't up last…Thursday like I said it was going to be. I had power problems and then I found myself completely uninspired to write something for Taylor until about five hours ago. So here it is. I'm sorry if there's a lot of mistakes and/or it makes little sense, it's approximately 2:30 in the morning, so I'm blaming that for all mistakes. There's not as many birthdays in this one, mainly due to the fact that the ones that are there are rather long themselves. Thanks for the reviews and hopefully everyone enjoys this one. The next one that should be (not too sure when that will be though) will be Ryan.

* * *

Taylor looked at her reflection in the mirror one more time. She knew that her mother was getting impatient and just wanted Taylor to be ready, but she had to make sure she looked nice. After all, it was her birthday and her first day at a new school. There was no way she was going to look anything less than nice.

She straightened her pink skirt once more and made sure her hair had every single strand in place. She pushed her glasses up by the bridge of her nose once more, wrinkling her nose in disgust at them. She hated these glasses with a passion but she needed them. She sighed. At least she didn't have her braces yet--those were getting put on a week after her ninth birthday.

"Taylor, come on!" she heard her mother's cries from down the stairs. "You're making me late."

Taylor looked at herself in the mirror once more before running down the stairs, trying her hardest to not touch anything at all, fear of messing up her outfit. She grabbed her brand new backpack--adorned with flowers with grinning faces in every color--and ran up to her mom. She was waiting for her mom to wish her a happy birthday and hopefully hand her a present of some sort--she was really hoping for a new Gameboy Color or something as equally awesome.

"Taylor, you're going to make us late." Her mother grabbed her hand, practically dragging her to the car.

She frowned as they drove to her school. No birthday wish, no present. She then figured it would just come later in the evening.

They got closer to her new school and she began to feel more nervous than ever before. Her earlier excitement started to fade away and she started to worry that she was going to have no friends at all. At her old school, in her old town, she had a grand total of one friend, and that girl still didn't like her very much. She only tolerated Taylor because their mothers were close. She had said something about Taylor being too controlling and pushy, especially when they were playing 'House' or some other fun game.

Taylor still didn't understand what she was talking about. Sarah had always volunteered to be the baby or the person who got captured or the person who sat and watched the play. Taylor just never influenced her to volunteer for another part and she certainly wasn't going to sacrifice a good part or anything.

Taylor and her mom marched into the school, Veronica obviously intent on getting in and out of the school as quickly as possible. They arrived at the principal's office, Taylor not saying much, except when asked a direct question. She was reviewing all of her informational topics that she thought her new friends might like to hear about in her head.

Finally, her mom left--still no happy birthday wish or new Gameboy--and Taylor had to go to her classroom. An old lady, whom Taylor assumed to be the secretary, brought her to her classroom, which was filled with hyperactive nine year olds. Taylor just kind of stared for a few minutes before entering the classroom.

She walked to the teacher's desk, handing her a piece of paper. The woman smiled at her, then put her hand on Taylor's shoulders, leading her to the front of the classroom.

"Children, we have a new student with us. Her name is Taylor Townsend, and she'll be joining us for the rest of the year."

Taylor gave a small wave and smile to her new classmates. She wanted to say something, but for once in her short life, found herself tongue tied.

This was not something that happened very often.

"You can go take the desk right next to Summer right over there," the teacher pointed in her the direction of a dark haired girl.

Taylor walked back there, her backpack still on her shoulders. Summer looked her up and down and two other girls sitting next to her did the same. She looked nervously at the three, wondering what this meant.

"Um, hi," Taylor said. "I'm Taylor."

"We heard."

"Oh. Right." Taylor swallowed. This was going bad already. "So…what are we doing right now?"

"We're s'pposed to be doing our spelling sentences," a blond girl replied. "I'm Holly by the way."

"I'm Marissa. The words are up on the board."

Taylor nodded her head, taking her notebook out of her backpack. She grabbed a perfectly sharpened pencil out and started to copy the words on the front board.

_Knot_

_Unknown_

_Know_

_Sign_

_Design_

She heard laughing next to her but she ignored it. She went back to writing down the words, listening to the scratching of her pencil against the paper instead.

_Writing_

_Wrist_

_Wreck_

_Climb_

_Thumb_

She heard more laughing and lifted her head to see what was going on. She looked to see Summer, Marissa, and Holly all giggling, apparently at her.

_Knit_

_Knob_

_Kneel_

_Assign_

_Wreath_

The laughing hadn't stopped. She lifted her head once more to look at them. They still didn't stop.

"What's so funny?" she whispered quietly. It would be no use getting in trouble on her first day.

Summer just shook her head, not replying to her. Taylor once more turned her head down to look at her paper, writing down the rest of her words.

_Wrench_

_Wren_

_Limb_

_Comb_

_Lamb_

"What is so funny?" she asked again, hearing their laughter still.

Holly pointed at her backpack on the ground. "Your backpack has flowers with faces. Isn't that a little weird? And we are in the fourth grade."

Taylor's face fell. She loved that backpack. She had picked it out because she loved the colors and thought it was fun.

"We all have plain backpacks," Summer added.

"Oh."

"It's kind of childish. It's sooo third grade."

Taylor nodded her head. She willed herself not to cry. She went back to her spelling, having to create a sentence with each of the words. She looked at the first one.

She tried to concentrate on what she was writing; tried to concentrate on figuring out the meanings of the words; tried to concentrate on the scratching pencil. The whispers she heard stopped her from continuing on.

"Do you see her glasses?"

"What about what she's wearing?"

"I cannot believe she left the house like that."

Taylor felt the tears well up in her eyes. It was her birthday, she was getting a chance to start over with new people. Her day wasn't supposed to be like this.

She raised her hand in the air. "Mrs. Benson may I go to the bathroom?"

"Go ahead. Do you know where it is?"

"I'll find it." Taylor darted out of her seat and out of the classroom.

She didn't let herself cry until she was far enough away from the classroom. She didn't care if she ever found the bathroom. She hated that she was crying right now. She hadn't wanted to cry today; it was supposed to be a happy day. She had cried practically every day since her dad left her and her mom and they moved away. She had wanted this day, her special day to be different. Of course it wasn't.

* * *

"You're Taylor right?"

She turned around to see a boy from her class come up to her. She couldn't believe that someone was actually talking to her.

Her whole rest of the day had been horrible. Summer, Marissa, and Holly had laughed at her throughout the whole day about different things and had basically turned the whole class against her.

It had only taken a day.

"Yes." She looked at the boy. She had seen him in class, but he had pretty much stayed to himself.

"I'm Seth. I just wanted to say…you'll get used to it."

She looked at Seth, wondering what he meant by that. "Get used to what?"

He shrugged. "What they say."

"Oh. I don't think anyone could get used to that." She squinted so she could get a better look at him through the glaring sun.

"I did."

"Oh."

"Seth! Come on!"

"I've gotta go. Bye Taylor. And happy birthday."

"How did you know that?"

"Mrs. Benson wrote it on the birthday board."

"Oh. Thanks."

He walked away, leaving Taylor alone. She smiled to herself. She had no friends, she hated her new school, she almost guaranteed that she didn't get her new Gameboy Color.

But she had gotten a happy birthday. Someone had noticed her and cared--albeit not much--about her. It was a nice feeling to have, if only for a moment.

X.X.X.X.

"Okay, so you can put that over there. And that belongs over there." Taylor looked down at her clipboard once more. "Oh, no. Seth, actually that goes over there."

He just looked at her, picking the heavy box up again. She smiled at him in return.

"Are you two having fun?" she questioned.

Seth and Ryan both glared at her. She didn't back down from their glares.

"I think that this is going to be an excellent bonding experience for us. I have games and activities planned for the whole night. It's going to be the most fun you've ever had."

"Oh, yea, I'm betting I haven't had this much fun since my grandpa's funeral," Seth remarked.

Taylor frowned. "You two should be getting back to work. Less talking."

"You're the one who talked to us!" Seth exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

"That box goes over there." She directed him. "So move it."

"I swear, all this heavy lifting is going to hurt my back," Seth muttered as he walked away.

Taylor rolled her eyes at his antics, turning her attention back to her clipboard. So far, everything was going according to plan for the lock-in that evening.

Except for one tiny little detail.

Not one person knew it was her birthday.

She was trying to forget that the person she had been closet to at the school had been Dean Hess and really, that had been purely sexual. He was gone now and anyway, he probably hadn't taken note of her birthday.

Therefore, no one knew that it was her birthday.

Well, her mom had taken notice. She had said something along the lines of, "Those pants look horrible on you, happy birthday."

It was truly her favorite day of the year.

She had never had anyone to spend her birthday with. When the opportunity to have a lock-in on her birthday came about, she had to take it.

She was sick and tired of spending her birthdays alone, wondering what it would be like if she had actual friends.

Tonight, she was going to make friends--even if she had to do it by locking everyone in a gym.

* * *

"Okay, everyone, take your questionnaire that you just filled out," Taylor called out, waving a piece of paper in the air. "Go and find a partner--someone you don't know and have never associated with really--and talk about your answers. Alternate asking questions with one another and make sure you answer honestly. And remember--have fun!"

There were grumbles and groans throughout the gym, but everyone did what they had to. Taylor looked at Seth who was sitting on the ground next to her, engrossed in a book. He had stopped partaking in the activities after a rather bad fall during the capture the flag game--due to a water polo player tripping him. This one though, he couldn't sit out.

"Would you like to be my partner, Seth?" she questioned.

Seth shrugged. "Sure."

He placed his book on the ground, picking up the questionnaire sheet. "You want to go first?"

"Sure. Um, what did you used to want to be when you grew up?"

"Spider-man."

She shook her head. "That doesn't surprise me in the least."

"What about you?"

"The first woman president."

"_That_ doesn't surprise me," Seth replied. "Uh, let's see…what's your favorite childhood memory?"

"My dad one time took me out for dinner, just me and him. It was a nice fun night," she shrugged. "Until he told me he and my mom were getting divorced, but I like to pretend that never happened. It's perfect without it."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's all in the past; that's why it's a memory. What about you?"

"Probably the day that everyone forgot I existed. I finally got to be in peace. I was invisible, but it was fine."

"We certainly have cheerful childhood memories."

"Ah, I could have thought of a happier one…but I didn't feel like putting much effort into this."

"That's nice." Taylor rolled her eyes. "My turn…what was your first pet's name?"

"Sparky. He was a goldfish. I loved Sparky, a lot. Until the incident."

Taylor raised her eyebrows. "What's the incident?"

"Well, I was really proud of my fish. He was amazing, a really fast swimmer and all. And well, one time I was playing with a ball in my room and it hit his fish tank. He fell out and started flopping and his fin kind of broke off in the process. So me being six and all, I decided that I needed to tape him back together. I tried. He died in the process. After that and the hamster thing two years later, my parents decided not to buy me anymore pets."

"Please, do tell the hamster thing." Taylor was laughing so hard at Seth's story. She was actually enjoying herself--with another classmate. This had never happened before.

"Well…I wanted to see if little Nugget could fly or something I don't quite remember. I started throwing him up in the air and well he hit the ceiling fan."

Taylor's hand flew to her mouth, mostly to cover up her laughter. "Wow. I don't think you should ever be allowed to have a pet. Also, I would watch out for any future children."

Seth ran his hand through his hair, laughing along with her. "Yea. Do me a favor and don't tell Summer those stories?"

"Do you think the two of you are going to be together forever?" Taylor questioned after her laughter had died out.

Seth shrugged. "I don't know. She might not want to be with me if she hears my hamster story."

Taylor nodded her head. "I promise I won't say anything. I had a pet dog named Esther. She was my dad's dog, so he took her when he left."

"Oh. I'm sorry about that."

Taylor waved it off. "She was a vicious dog. It wasn't a big deal. It's your turn to ask a question now."

"Right. When's your birthday?"

"Actually it's today."

"Oh. Really? Happy birthday," he said. "You wanted to spend your birthday in here, with a bunch of kids who, well, no offense, hate you?"

She shrugged. "It's better than sitting at home alone, wishing I was with my nonexistent friends."

"Oh." For once, Seth Cohen seemed to be at a lose for words.

"It's okay. This is better than a lot of my birthdays."

"Good."

Taylor smiled at him as they continued learning more about each other. This was the birthday that she always wanted.

X.X.X.X.

To say that Taylor was pissed off was the understatement of the year.

It was her birthday, she was home alone with their dog, and Ryan was no where in sight.

She sighed, leaning back against her pillows. She was so frustrated right now. She was restless and didn't want to be in bed anymore. It had only been a week and she already wanted to pull her hair out.

And to think, she had a month and a half of this to go.

She sighed, cursing the fact that she was on bed rest. Ryan told her when they met their son for the first time, it would be totally worth it.

She wasn't sure if it was because at the moment, it was the farthest thing from worth it. She was not the type of person who was able to just sit around. She needed to have something to do.

Or she at least had to have some company. Human company. Currently, all she had was her dog, Minnie. Minnie, being nearly ten years old--considering they got her two months before they got married--was old and lazy. She didn't really do much but sleep.

Taylor watched the door intently, waiting for Ryan to come home. She was going to kiss him hello, wait for him to wish her a happy birthday again, then promptly bite his head off for being two hours late.

The bedroom door opened up, just as she was about to pick up the baby name book for the fiftieth time that day. Ryan came inside, carrying bags and a smile that looked like he wanted to be let off for his lateness.

"Hi Taylor, happy birthday," he walked over, giving her a kiss.

"You're late." She was true to her words. She had left him kiss her, wish her a happy birthday, and now it was time to bite his head off.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Two hours late, Ryan."

"I'm sorry but--"

"It's my birthday, I'm pregnant with your child who has caused me to have to lay in bed until he comes out and you can only muster up a sorry?"

"Sor--I mean, I went to see Seth and Summer. Summer said she had something for you. And you know, Jacob, Alyssa, and Brooke just love me."

Taylor didn't comment, though what he had said about their nieces and nephew were true. They were eight, five, and two and loved their uncle practically as much as their parents. Taylor was convinced that it was because he gave them sweets when their parents weren't looking. He mostly did it because he thought of it as payback for all the years of Seth talking his ear off. The kids loved it of course.

They never had that reaction with Taylor. They usually scurried away from her. Ryan said it was because she tried to teach them some French so "they would be well cultured" but she just thought that it was because she never had candy for them.

"Yea, way more than they love me."

"They love you. They do."

"Then how come they run away screaming whenever I go over?"

"They're kids. And it might be the French greeting that freaks them out."

Taylor sighed. She felt like she was going to cry now, and one is not supposed to cry on their birthday. She had experienced it way too often when she was younger and it hadn't happened in quite a few years.

Ryan seemed to sense this. "Don't worry, you're going to be fine with our kid."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know it, Taylor. It's different when it's your kid."

"But what if it's not for me? I mean, I can't even pick out a name for him!"

"That's only because I keep shooting down all the names you like. They're French and weird. That's why we now have an American baby name book, with pronounceable names for everyone."

"They were pronounceable."

"We'll find the perfect name. I promise."

"I'm still mad at you for being late."

"I had good reason. I had to go get our food too." He held up two food bags. "It's all nice and hot. I'll even put it on plates and it'll be like we're there."

She pouted at this statement. "I want to be there. Not here."

"Let's be happy. Let's think about the fact that we're going to have a baby in a month and a half and that it's your birthday."

She rolled her eyes. "I've been trying all day. And I keep thinking about how everything is going to go wrong with our child and somehow I am going to royally screw him up. I mean, what if I suddenly turn into Veronica? Or if I am the exact opposite of her? What if, when he's born, I can't take care of him or something--"

"Taylor. For the last time, you are going to be a wonderful mother. I promise. Don't worry. You've taken great care of Minnie."

Both looked at the dog, who was at the end of the bed, snoring loudly.

"I think that was a bad example, Ryan," Taylor said dryly. "Minnie is a dog. Our child is not going to be a dog."

"You need to calm down about this. The doctor said to not put a lot of stress on yourself."

"That's like saying…well, if I felt up to it, I would think of some sort of clever and witty analogy to go with that."

"It's fine. Please calm down. I have presents and food."

She sighed. "I'm sorry I'm acting like this, Ryan. I'm just nervous and restless."

"You don't say."

"Shut up."

"And it's fine, Taylor. Please, take all of your troubles out on me. I am your punching bag for the next month and a half. "

"Thanks. I'm glad to know."

"Now…time for presents then." Ryan handed her a bag. "This is from Summer. She said that you could probably use them. And she said she was sorry she couldn't come to see you today, but she will be here tomorrow, as long as you don't mind Brooke coming too."

"Of course I don't. Perhaps I can pick up some tips. Observe her behavior, get a clue."

"Don't scare her. She's only two."

"I know." Taylor opened up the bag. "Oh look. Parenting books. She really does know my line of thinking."

"I'm glad that it was a good present. Now, from me…"

She sat up straighter, knowing fully what he was about to give her. She dangled the charm bracelet he had purchased for her ten years before. There was a perfect spot for a brand new charm. They all had some sort of sentimental value to them, holding thoughts about certain memories.

She opened the box and wasn't shocked to see a baby related charm, a small blue baby rattle. She smiled at him.

"I should have assumed."

He shrugged. "Hey, it's important. It deserves to be on the charm bracelet."

"Thank you." She leaned forward, kissing him. "Can we eat now?"

"There's just one more thing…see there's another reason I was late. His name is Isaac and I found him on the street."

"Please tell me you're talking about a dog."

Ryan shook his head. "No. A fourteen year old boy."

"Where is he?"

"In our living room."

She sighed. "I should have known."

"He needs a place to stay."

"So you're just going to let some kid who you don't know stay in our house. That's safe."

"Taylor…" Ryan sighed, having a problem putting what he wanted to say into words. "He's like me. I can tell. He needs help. I saw him and kept thinking about what if Sandy hadn't helped me that day? And…the next thing I know, I'm bringing him home. Please don't be mad."

She actually felt a smile tugging at her lips. She didn't want to be pleased with the way he was acting, considering it was rather reckless but she knew that it meant a lot to him. That, in turn, made it mean a lot to her. She saw the look of hope on his face, the one that showed he wanted to help this kid out.

"All right. He can stay. For the night at least. We'll talk more when I'm less hungry."

"Thank you, Taylor," he kissed her again. "He'll really appreciate it. I, uh, don't want him to eat alone."

"I want to get out of this bed so let's go."

She smiled once again at her husband. She loved him so much for doing what he was going to do for the boy. It was going to be an interesting time in their lives, especially considering they were probably going to end up taking this boy in, just like Sandy took Ryan in. Him, on top of their new baby--well, it was bound to be interesting.

She was looking forward to all the changes though. As much as she feared it, she knew it was all for the better. And one change coming on her birthday made her realize it was definitely going to be good for their small family.


	4. Ryan

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that is recognized.

A/N-So, I kind of failed with this. Eh, it's only like a month after I said it was going to be. I had intended to work on this last week, it was at the top of my list but then the Olympics started and I felt the strong desire to watch Michael Phelps race a lot instead of write this. So yea, I am truly sorry this took me so long to get out. It's also, at this moment in time, going to be the last one. I am fresh out of ideas for this. I might come back to it if I get any ideas though. Okay. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter (and to those you wished me a happy birthday, I really appreciated that!) and I hope that everyone enjoys this.

* * *

Ryan sat in the corner of his closet. He was hiding from all the yelling that was going on outside of his door. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to shut it all out.

It was his ninth birthday. It was supposed to be a happy day, a celebrated one. Parents were supposed to give their kids hugs and presents.

They weren't supposed to be drinking and yelling at each other. His dad wasn't supposed to be hitting his mom.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

He had seen images of children's parents throwing them parties. He had seen bounces houses and clowns come. He had never had that.

He leaned his head against the wall, trying to block out the images that he had seen before he had escaped to his closet.

He heard the door open up, causing him to sit up, his eyes opening wide in fear. He thought it was going to be his dad, coming to get him after finishing with his mom.

Instead, Theresa snuck inside, closing the door quickly behind her. She smiled at Ryan.

"How did you get in here?" he whispered.

"I climbed through the window," she rolled her eyes at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why would you do that?"

"It's your birthday. Duh."

"Theresa, you shouldn'ta done that."

She shrugged. "Oh, whatever. You're my best friend and I had to give you your present."

He looked at her, his eyes a little brighter than a few minutes before. No one had mentioned a present to him at all that day. Even though he knew it was going to be small, he was thankful that someone had remembered and wanted to give him a present.

"Close your eyes."

He did as he was told, waiting for something to be put in his hands. He was getting excited at the prospect of opening up a gift.

Instead, he suddenly felt her lips on his. He opened his eyes up and pushed her away.

"Ew, what was that for?" he exclaimed.

She giggled. "That was your present, silly."

"That wasn't a good present." He crossed his arms. He should have expected it. After they had kissed three years ago, she had always wanted to kiss him again.

She laughed again. "My mom wants you to come over."

"Really?"

"Yea. For dinner. And there's cake."

His eyes lit up. "Chocolate?"

"Uh-huh. And we have your real present there."

He grinned at her as she pulled him to his feet. She quietly opened the closet door and got them out. He helped her get out of the window and ran to her house. They were safe now.

Ryan smiled when he saw the small wrapped gift sitting on the table. Even though he knew it wasn't much, it was something. He smiled at Theresa and her mom. They were his family at this moment more than his real family. And really, that was all that mattered to him.

X.X.X.X.

Ryan didn't move from his bed in the pool house when he first woke up on the morning of his 17th birthday.

He still had to practically pinch himself when he heard these words. He had been with the Cohen for a year and a half, but he still couldn't believe that he had managed to turn his life around.

He finally rolled out of bed, deciding to go to the house for breakfast. He wasn't expecting them to do much for his birthday. He didn't want them to do anything big for his birthday. Last year, they had just had a nice quiet dinner together, which was what he had wanted. He was hoping for the same this year.

He walked into the house and immediately saw Sandy, Kirsten, and Seth sitting down, looking like they were waiting for something.

"Happy birthday!"

They had been waiting for something. They had been waiting for him. He couldn't help the wide smile that broke out on his face.

"Thanks."

"Here." Kirsten pulled him forward to the table, a wide variety of breakfast foods spread across it. "There's breakfast for you."

"You didn't make it did you?"

She rolled her eyes, but a smile was on her face. "No, of course not. You can order breakfast too, you know."

"It looks really good."

"Here, Ryan, we got you something." Seth pushed a few wrapped presents towards Ryan as he sat down at the table.

Ryan looked at the three. "You guys didn't have to get me anything. Really."

"We know that we don't have to," Kirsten commented.

"Your our family though," Sandy added.

"Yea, good luck arguing with them not getting gifts for family. I asked them to send me to boarding school for my 13th birthday and all I got was a PlayStation."

Seth started bickering with his parents about his birthday but Ryan wasn't listening to them. It didn't matter. He had a family that cared for him. A real family, with a mom and dad and a brother, all who really cared about him. It might not have been his blood family but they were more of a family than his blood family. Celebrating his birthday cemented this fact. And that was truly the best birthday present he could have ever gotten.

X.X.X.X.

"Ryan." He heard the soft whisper in his ear, he could feel her breath on the side of his face. All he had to do was open his eyes to see her.

He finally did and he saw the woman he loved more than anything. She was smiling her beautiful smile at him and her hair was mused from sleep, but she still looked as beautiful as ever.

"Happy birthday."

She leaned closer to his face, kissing him. He had woken up like this every morning since they had gotten married two months ago and he loved it even more everyday.

"Thanks."

He leaned in to kiss Taylor again, but she had already moved out of the bed. He looked at her, wondering why she had left him in the bed, considering it was a Saturday morning and neither had to work. They could spend the whole day in bed if they wanted, and that was exactly what he had planned to do.

"What are you doing?"

"We have a full day ahead of us. We have to go out to breakfast with Sandy, Kirsten, and Sophie, I talked to them last night about it. Then, we're going over to Seth and Summer's house later this afternoon, where they are throwing you a birthday party."

Ryan groaned. "I didn't want a party."

"Too bad Ryan. You're 30 today, it's total reason to celebrate."

A groan escaped from his mouth again. He was thirty now. He had been trying to forget about that.

"Oh stop that."

"Hey, it doesn't matter to you. You're still 29. You don't understand what I am going through right now."

She rolled her eyes, though she was smiling at her husband. He had been going on about this for the past month, about how he didn't want to turn 30. She had never really pegged Ryan for being the type of guy worrying about turning 30 but he had been. It made her laugh and made her enjoy remarks about him turning 30 before her even more enjoyable.

"Do I really have to have a party?"

"You sound like a small child."

"I just wanted to spend the day with you though." He had gotten out of bed now and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Just the two of us. In here. I thought it sounded like a much better plan than some party celebrating the fact that I'm--" he shuddered as he tried to say the number.

"30," Taylor completed, a smirk on her face. "And as wonderful as that sounds, I already agreed to everything for you."

He frowned. This wasn't what he had in mind.

"But," Taylor continued. "Breakfast will be short and we don't have to be at Seth and Summer's until four. So we'll have the whole afternoon together. Plus, we only have to stay at the party until maybe 10. That gives us the whole night."

Ryan's frown quickly turned into a smile. "Good. I like that schedule a lot better."

"I'm glad. I'm going to get in the shower." She started to walk towards the bathroom, then turned back to him. "Ryan?"

"Huh?"

"Are you coming?"

He smiled at her as he followed her into the bathroom. He might have been turning 30 years old, but he loved the track his life was on. He was reminded on his birthday how truly lucky he had been, considering if his life had stayed the same as it had been in Chino, he would have probably already been in jail. Even though he was getting older, he had a wonderful life and he wouldn't change any part of it. It was what he had always wanted.


End file.
